Just One Night (The Kingston Family 1)

* * *

In the last two weeks, Jordan’s life had changed. She accepted her place in Linc’s life and let go of old insecurities, while he embraced their relationship publicly and enthusiastically, including the fact that he would become a father. Though Jordan worried about miscarrying, a trip to the obstetrician assured her she was healthy and there was no reason to anticipate a problem.

Now she sat in Linc’s SUV with a scarf wrapped around her eyes as they headed … somewhere he didn’t want her to see.

“Come on, give me a hint?” she asked after who knows how long listening to the radio, him humming, refusing to talk, and keeping her in suspense.

“Nope.” But the car came to a stop and he shut the engine. “But you can take off the blindfold now.”

She eagerly pulled off the silk scarf and blinked as she adjusted to the sunlight. When she gazed out her side window, a brand-new house set back on a massive plot of land came into view. It was a gorgeous brick Georgian-style manor home that rivaled the Kingston Estate in size and surrounding property.

“Where are we?” she asked, her mouth going dry.

“Ready to go in and take a look?” he asked, restarting the engine.

“That’s not an answer,” she informed him.

“It’s a house.”

She shook her head. “It’s more like a mansion or an estate that five families could live in,” she said, panicking as she realized what was happening.

He shrugged, taking it all in stride. The massive house, the acres of land. This was all normal to him.

“We’re having a baby. We need the room.” He put the car in drive and headed down a tree-lined road before turning onto a long driveway leading to the house.

Overwhelmed, Jordan curled a knee under her and twisted toward him. “Linc! You’re going crazy. In the last two weeks, you moved me into your place, got me out of my lease, pulled off a huge dinner for both of our families, and bought and demanded my ring be sized and ready in twenty-four hours! Now we’re looking at this massive house for sale? No. Just no!” she said, her voice rising.

He placed a calming hand on her knee. “Okay, I thought you might hyperventilate when you got a look at this place.” He reached into the side of his seat and pulled out papers. “What about any of these?” he asked in a soothing voice. “They’re more reasonable. We can work up to the estate.”

Rolling her eyes, she accepted the Realtor pages and used them to slap him on the arm before looking through the contents and relaxing at the more realistic places for them to live.

“I agree we need more space,” she said. “But no more giving heart attacks, okay?” It was one thing to adjust to becoming a Kingston, another to buy this land and house.

Thank goodness he’d anticipated her reaction and had given her options. In the end, another two weeks after they started looking, they agreed on what Jordan still thought was a massive home not far from his family estate. The location satisfied his mother’s need to be near her soon-to-be grandbaby and was only a half-hour drive for Jordan’s parents.

Since Linc wanted to do some renovations on the house, Jordan convinced him to let them stay in the city until she was seven months pregnant, giving her time to adjust to their new normal without making so many changes at once.

As for getting married, neither one of them wanted to upstage Chloe, so they decided to wait until after his sister’s wedding next month. Jordan wanted a small, intimate ceremony, and Linc seemed happy to keep the event to their families only.

Tonight, he was at the gym in the building, doing his workout, and Jordan had decided to cook dinner. She’d gotten used to his kitchen, and he’d accepted that she didn’t want a housekeeper handling every meal. Although she had to admit, after long workdays, it was nice to come home to a fully prepared dinner that wasn’t takeout or delivery.

Jordan wasn’t the world’s best cook but she could handle some basics, and she’d made them lasagna and garlic bread. Leaving it to cool a little, she went to change into a silky lounge set before Linc came back home.

* * *

Linc finished his workout and made his way to the penthouse. He needed a hot shower, and then he looked forward to sitting down for dinner with his soon-to-be wife. Since the day in her mother’s house when he’d apologized and bared his soul, he’d done everything he could to make Jordan happy and prove to her they had what it took to last forever.

At times, she thought he was moving too fast. More often he didn’t think they were going fast enough. He wanted everything with her and he wanted it now. But he was learning the fine art of compromise. If it were up to him, he’d buy her the world. She didn’t seem to want anything more than his love and a lifetime together, and that was only one of the things that made her so special.